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Earlier this month Microsoft started selling the Xbox One without Kinect for $399, and is now pushing the positives of what is effectively a U-turn for the platform. Microsoft is also dispelling a few myths about what not shipping Kinect with every Xbox One means in terms of limiting functionality.

The good news is, regardless of whether you have Kinect or not, Xbox One games are set to get better. The key to this is the freeing up of 10% of GPU resources that used to be reserved for Kinect. Developers are free to use the extra GPU performance and bandwidth however they want, but Microsoft says there’s three key areas it will improve games.

The first two go hand-in-hand. A better performing GPU means higher game resolutions and higher frame rates. A key example of this is Bungie’s Destiny, which has already used the latest Xbox One SDK to increase the resolution to 1080p and the frame rate to 30fps. Importantly for Microsoft, that means it matches the PS4 version. The third improvement is simply more stuff on screen. Developers may choose to stick with a 720p or 900p resolution, but then can increase the number of enemies being rendered making for busier scenes and generally more action.

Ultimately it’s up to the developer how they use the extra performance, and the good news is we won’t have to wait long to see it. The SDK with the unlocked GPU is already available and Microsoft says the games being launched in time for Christmas will be using it. So hopefully that means fewer instances where the PS4 version looks the better game.

As for what this means for Kinect functionality during gameplay, Microsoft has said it will have little impact. If a game doesn’t support Kinect it will disable the associated functionality (gestures controls and visual recognition). However, checks will continue to happen by the Xbox One operating system for voice commands such as “Xbox record that” and will work as expected.